- Source
- Ovid. P. Ovidius Naso, Volume 1: Amores, Epistulae, Medicamina faciei femineae, Ars amatoria, Remedia amoris. Ehwald, Rudolf; Merkel, Rudolph; editors. Leipzig: B. G. Teubner, 1907.
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:latinLit:phi0959.phi001.humanitext-lat2:3.8.1-3.8.66
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-28
The poet laments that in the present age, poetic talent and education are neglected in favor of a boorish knight who gained wealth through warfare. He criticizes the corrupting power of gold and nostalgically contrasts it with the peaceful Golden Age of Saturn, when metals remained hidden deep in the earth.
Et quisquam ingenuas etiamnunc suspicit artes,
And does anyone even now look up to the liberal arts,
Aut tenerum dotes carmen habere putat?
or think that tender song has a dowry?
Ingenium quondam fuerat pretiosius auro;
Talent was once more precious than gold;
At nunc barbaria est grandis, habere nihil.1
but now it is a great barbarism to have nothing.
Cum pulchrae dominae nostri placuere libelli,
Though my little books pleased the beautiful mistress,
Quo licuit libris, non licet ire mihi;
where it was permitted for books, it is not permitted for me to go;
Cum bene laudavit, laudato ianua clausa est.
though she praised them well, the door is shut to the praised one.
Turpiter huc illuc ingeniosus eo.
Shamefully, I, the talented one, go here and there.
Ecce, recens dives parto per vulnera censu
Look, a newly-rich man, with wealth acquired through wounds,
Praefertur nobis sanguine pastus eques!
a knight fed on blood, is preferred to us!
Hunc potes amplecti formosis, vita, lacertis?
Can you, my life, embrace this man with your beautiful arms?
Huius in amplexu, vita, iacere potes?
Can you, my life, lie in his embrace?
Si nescis, caput hoc galeam portare solebat;
If you do not know, this head used to wear a helmet;
Ense latus cinctum, quod tibi servit, erat;
the flank which serves you was girded with a sword;
Laeva manus, cui nunc serum male convenit aurum,
the left hand, which now gold ill fits so late,
Scuta tulit; dextram tange — cruenta fuit!
carried shields; touch his right hand — it was bloody!
Qua periit aliquis, potes hanc contingere dextram?
Can you touch this right hand, by which someone perished?
Heu, ubi mollities pectoris illa tui?
Alas, where is that softness of your breast?
Cerne cicatrices, veteris vestigia pugnae —
See the scars, traces of an old battle —
Quaesitum est illi corpore, quidquid habet.
whatever he has was acquired by that body.
Forsitan et, quotiens hominem iugulaverit,2 ille
And perhaps he would even point out how many times he has slit a man’s throat!
Indicet! hoc fassas tangis, avara, manus?
Do you, greedy one, touch hands that have confessed to this?
Ille ego Musarum purus Phoebique sacerdos
Shall I, that pure priest of the Muses and Phoebus,
Ad rigidas canto carmen inane fores?
sing a useless song to unyielding doors?
Discite, qui sapitis, non quae nos scimus inertes,
Learn, you who are wise, not what we useless ones know,
Sed trepidas acies et fera castra sequi
but to follow trembling battle-lines and fierce camps
Proque bono versu primum deducite pilum!
and in place of a good verse lead the first spear!
Nox tibi, si belles, possit, Homere, dari.
A night, Homer, if you should wage war, could be given to you.
Iuppiter, admonitus nihil esse potentius auro,
Jupiter, having been reminded that nothing is more powerful than gold,
Corruptae pretium virginis ipse fuit.
himself became the price of the seduced maiden.
Dum merces aberat, durus pater, ipsa severa,
While the reward was absent, there was a harsh father, she herself was severe,
Aerati postes, ferrea turris erat;
bronze were the doorposts, iron was the tower;
Sed postquam sapiens in munere venit adulter,
but after the clever adulterer came with a gift,
Praebuit ipsa sinus et dare iussa dedit.
she herself offered her bosom and gave what she was ordered to give.
At cum regna senex caeli Saturnus haberet,
But when old Saturn held the kingdoms of heaven,
Omne lucrum tenebris alta premebat humus.
the deep earth pressed down all gain in darkness.
Aeraque et argentum cumque auro pondera ferri
And bronze and silver and, with gold, the weights of iron
Manibus admorat,3 nullaque massa fuit.
she had moved near the Manes, and there was no ore-mass.
At meliora dabat — curvo sine vomere fruges
But she used to give better things — crops without the curved plowshare,
Pomaque et in quercu mella reperta cava.
and fruits, and honey found in the hollow oak.
Nec valido quisquam terram scindebat aratro,
Nor did anyone tear the earth with a strong plow,
Signabat nullo limite mensor humum,
no land-surveyor marked the ground with a boundary,
Non freta demisso verrebant eruta remo;
they did not sweep the dug-up seas with lowered oars;
Ultima mortali tum via litus erat.
the shore was then the furthest path for mortal man.
Contra te sollers, hominum natura, fuisti
On the contrary, human nature, you have been clever against yourself,
Et nimium damnis ingeniosa tuis.
and too clever to your own detriment.
Quo tibi,4 turritis incingere moenibus urbes?
What use is it for you to gird cities with turreted walls?
Quo tibi, discordes addere in arma manus?
What use is it for you to put discordant hands into weapons?
Quid tibi cum pelago — terra contenta fuisses!
What have you to do with the sea? You should have been content with the land!
Cur non et caelum, tertia regna, petis?
Why do you not seek heaven too, the third kingdom?
Qua licet, adfectas caelum quoque — templa Quirinus,
Where it is allowed, you affect heaven too — temples Quirinus,
Liber et Alcides et modo Caesar habent.
Liber, and Alcides, and just now Caesar have.
Eruimus terra solidum pro frugibus aurum.
We dig out solid gold from the earth instead of crops.
Possidet inventas sanguine miles opes.
The soldier possesses wealth gained by blood.
Curia pauperibus clausa est — dat census honores;
The Senate-house is closed to the poor — wealth gives honors;
Inde gravis iudex, inde severus eques!
hence the grave judge, hence the severe knight!
Omnia possideant; illis Campusque forumque
Let them possess everything; let both the Campus and the Forum
Serviat, hi pacem crudaque bella gerant —
serve them, let these make peace and raw wars —
Tantum ne nostros avidi liceantur amores,
only let them not, greedy, bid for our loves,
Et — satis est — aliquid pauperis esse sinant!
and — it is enough — let them allow something to belong to the poor man!
At nunc, exaequet tetricas licet5 illa Sabinas,
But now, although she should equal the strict Sabine women,
Imperat ut captae qui dare multa potest;
he who can give many things commands her as if she were a captive;
Me prohibet custos, in me timet illa maritum.
the guard keeps me away, on account of me she fears her husband.
Si dederim, tota cedet uterque domo!
If I should give, both will yield the whole house!
O si neclecti quisquam deus ultor amantis
Oh, if only some god, avenger of the neglected lover,
Tam male quaesitas pulvere mutet opes!
would turn wealth so badly acquired into dust!
- 3.8.4habere nihil
The infinitive phrase is used substantively as the subject of the copulative sentence barbaria est grandis ("it is a great barbarism"), meaning "to possess nothing."
- 3.8.21quotiens hominem iugulaverit
An indirect question clause with the perfect subjunctive iugulaverit, acting as the object of the main verb indicet, which is in the present subjunctive expressing potentiality ("he would point out").
- 3.8.38Manibus admorat
admorat is a syncopated form of admoverat (pluperfect). Manibus is the dative of Manes (the Underworld/shades of the dead), indicating that Saturn had kept the metals deep underground, near the realm of the dead. Although it could be interpreted as the ablative of manus ("by hands"), the context of hiding deep in the earth supports "to the Underworld."
- 3.8.47Quo tibi
An idiomatic ellipsis where a verb (such as proficit or opus est) is omitted. With the dative tibi, it functions as "to what purpose for you?" or "what use is it to you to...?"
- 3.8.61exaequet ... licet
The impersonal verb licet is used as a conjunction introducing a concession, governing the present subjunctive exaequet ("although she should equal").